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The collective grief over a co-worker's death -- anticipated or completely unexpected -- can cause strife and pain for everyone in the workplace. You need to be strong and professional while carefully informing your employees of such a powerful event in the lives of everyone in the office. With no easy way to give such information, you do the best you can to compassionately tell your employees the sad news.

1. Ensure that you have accurate information about the death of the individual. Make sure that you have as many details as possible that are appropriate -- from the deceased's family -- to share with your employees. Wait until you have all of the information unless you become aware of rumors about the death beginning to circulate. If employees have heard something, let them know that you don't have all of the information yet, but you will relay everything you know as you find out.

2. Discuss the approach you plan to take for informing employees with upper management to make sure everyone knows the protocol. Properly align your plan of action so that you are all in lockstep. Decide whether you will offer to send your employees home for the day or bring in a grief counselor. You want to arm your management staff with solid tools to bring comfort to your staff. Meeting with your management staff provides a good opportunity to see how well they will be able to cope with the loss of a co-worker and how they will be able to inform your staff.

3. Gather your employees in a comfortable space to officially share the information. Bringing everyone together and then sharing the information at one time -- if your company is small -- will create a sense of unity in a time of grief. If your company is large, find an appropriately sized common room and share the news there.

4. Reach out to sick, vacationing employees, or employees traveling on business, to let them know the news. Call or email any staff members who are out of the office so they learn the details from you. The absent employees will want to know the news as soon as possible, and by quickly informing them, you ensure that they feel included in the collective grieving process.

5. Encourage employees to lean on one another and management if they feel overwhelmed. Learn from the family if they will be accepting flowers or donations to a charitable organization as a tribute to the deceased. Ask employees to donate to a fund to purchase a floral arrangement or to honor the deceased co-worker's memory according to their charitable wishes. Such a gesture will create a bond among employees and help to console the family.

6. Give your employees permission to take paid leave time to attend the funeral service. Offering your employees paid time to say farewell to their deceased co-worker will help them feel a sense of closure and bond your staff as the employees share in the grieving process.

7. Memorialize your deceased worker, particularly if the funeral is far away or employees are unable to attend. Ask your staff members to be involved with planning a tribute for their co-worker by recounting a fond memory of her, which can be a funny moment, a superlative idea, a way that she performed above and beyond or simply that she always had a smile for everyone.

8. Advise employees about the Employee Assistance Program and how they can help. If you see that some employees are experiencing a difficult time coping with the loss, inform them that they can find help through the EAP.

Things Needed

Accurate details

Funeral information

Tip

Don't be afraid to show your staff that you are human and affected by the loss. Your humanity combined with professionalism will show staff members that they can also forge ahead.

Warning

Don't downplay anyone's feelings of loss or diminish the value of their sense of pain.

About the Author

Melissa Cooper writes on topics including education, fitness and business, using her Bahelor of Arts in English at Ohio State University. An effective researcher in her expert subjects, Cooper has produced a newsletter and an internal office website that focused on fitness and well-being.